Western Digital has unveiled a plan that expands its 3.5-inch hard drive platform to 14 platters and combines it with a new vertically emitting laser for thermally assisted magnetic recording (HAMR). According to the company, this combination will push the capacity of individual disks above 140 TB in the 30s.
The vertical laser has been developed by WD for more than six years and is said to already be working in the laboratories. It emits a stream of photons directly down onto the disk, rather than from the edge, delivering more thermal energy and taking up less space. Thus, it allows to increase the areal density of up to 10 TB per plate, which is a significant increase compared to today’s 4 TB. At the same time, saving space creates additional space for the plates in the same disc case.
WD’s first commercial HAMR drives will hit the market in late 2026 with 40-44TB capacity in an 11-platter design, and volume production will begin in 2027. A 12-platter, 60TB platform will follow in 2028, and WD expects to exceed 140TB capacity around 2030.
date:2026-02-06 13:39:00